How Dumb

My mare has a fairly long forelock. For the non-horse people that's the part of the mane the grows between the ears and the top of the forehead.  On my girl it reaches to her eyes.  She keeps getting her forelock matted with tiny little burs from somewhere in the field.  Twice I've cleaned the little buggers out while she was in a cross tie.  She absolutely hated that.  Today I left her in the stall for the procedure, and she stood quietly the whole time. Afterwards I realized why.

In the cross tie I had to work from straight in front, and so stood rather close.  Horses can't see close and directly in front, and not at all directly behind.  In the stall I was standing to the side where she can see.  How dumb of me.